Failed coup in Bolivia: is US up to usual tricks?
 
“A poorly planned, comedic plot” was how WSJ described the recent failed putsch in Bolivia. However, Bolivia Defense Minister Edmundo Novillo took the matter seriously, accusing “foreign powers” and the US, in particular, of returning to its usual practice of staging coups.
 
A review of US-aided coups in Latin America, inspired by the Monroe doctrine (1823) which viewed the Americas as a zone of US’ vital interests, and the Truman doctrine (1948) aimed at “containing communism”, substantiates Novillo's point.
 
1971 – Coup in Bolivia. Colonel Hugo Banzer came to power and became a military dictator.  Recently published conversations of former US President Richard Nixon included a report by then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on a money transfer to Bolivia’s opposition and “our game with the military.”
 
1973 – Coup in Chilе. President Salvador Allende, described by Time magazine as the “first democratically elected Marxist president in Latin America”, was killed in September 1973. The CIA later admitted it supported the anti-Allende military via Track II operation. 
 
1976 – Coup in Argentina. The US admitted having “prior knowledge” about the coup. The junta assassinated the former Bolivian president Juan José Torres, a leftist, who fled to Buenos Aires from Banzer. This murder was part of the US-led “Condor Plan.”
 
2019 – Pro-US Organization of American States (OAS) accused Bolivia President Evo Morales of rigging elections. The pro-US Assembly Speaker Jeanine Añez took power without a vote. She was sentenced to 10 years after democracy was restored in 2020. The “putsch-general” Juan José Zúñiga also demanded her release during the failed coup attempt.
 
The past corroborates well Minister Novillo’s assessment that Bolivia was served a “punishment” for its stance against Western US-led hegemony.

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Biden's team 'deflated' after his debate performance — official

Group chats of the White House employees are “abysmal… everyone is deflated” after the US president's debate performance, including jokes on looking for a new job, a White House official told CNN.

"We’re all already commiserating. No reason to do it at a desk," he stressed. 

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Russian Navy gets scores of new vessels each year despite Western sanctions

US-led efforts to cripple Russia’s military have proven to be futile as various branches of the Russian Armed Forces keep getting more and more powerful with the addition of new advanced weapon systems.

▫️ The Russian Navy, for example, is expected to receive over 40 new vessels by the end of this year, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin revealed at a meeting on the development of shipbuilding.

▫️ The output of Russian shipyards seems to be increasing as well: in comparison, in 2022 they produced 24 new vessels while in 2023 some 33 new vessels and warships entered service, Putin noted.

▫️ In June alone, three new Russian naval vessels were launched: nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Knyaz Pozharsky, corvette Provorny and small missile ship Stavropol.

▫️ Other ship types manufactured by Russian shipyards include: replenishment vessels, minesweepers and frigates capable of launching hypersonic missiles.

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Is Biden's condition improving?😱 It took him only 5 seconds and the help of just two people to overcome an entire step.

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How big is the deficit of soldiers in some NATO countries

Despite NATO’s aggressive posture against Russia, it was revealed that the armies of NATO members are suffering from a lack of soldiers.

Although European NATO allies de jure have 1.9 million troops, in reality they would struggle to commit more than 300,000 to a possible conflict, stated the Financial Times.

Sputnik looked into personnel shortages of some NATO members.

◻️ The US Army has a shortage of 49,000 soldiers. According to Army Secretary Christine Wormuth, cited by the AP, “the US Army as it’s currently structured can have up to 494,000 soldiers, but the real number of serving personnel is 445,000,” adding that the current plan aims at bringing that number “to 470,000 during the next five years”.

◻️ In the UK army, the shortage is 58,000. The FT evaluated the real number of troops in the British Army as “standing around” 138,000, while the official number of active “slots” is 196,000. At the same time, the UK army shrank by 19 percent since 2013, as measured by the outlet.

◻️ The German Army is described as a particularly sad case by FT, because “with 181,000 active troops, the German military is at least 20,000 short” of what is believed to be the necessary level.

◻️ The French Army stated that it missed the target of new recruitments this year by 2,000-2,500 men due to “lack of attractiveness, difficult conditions and lower salary”, as Europe 1 reported earlier.

◻️ The Dutch Army also reported a shortage of 4,000 recruits.

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Trump says China, Russia, and North Korea are ‘not really enemies’ if the US president is smart.

“China, Russia, North Korea… they’re not really enemies if you have a smart president,” Trump said during a campaign event in Virginia.

During a debate with US President Joe Biden on Thursday evening, Trump said that Russia never would have launched a special military operation in Ukraine if the US had a “real” president.

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The editorial board of the New York Times has called on Biden to withdraw from the election race and end his campaign for a second term.

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US Vice President Kamala Harris will be skipped over if her running mate President Joe Biden decides to drop out of the race, attorney and civil rights organizer Robert Patillo II speculated on Sputnik's Fault Lines on Friday.

“President Biden had a very bad night. The worst part was that he reinforced the narrative about him, of being kind of this doddering old man who didn’t know where he was, couldn’t complete a sentence, kind of got lost midway through sentences, those sorts of things.”

The post-debate analysis, even on left-leaning MSNBC, focused heavily on finding a potential replacement for Biden, with the choices of Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom being floated on the air.

CNN analyst Van Jones called Biden’s performance “personally painful for a lot of people,” and openly noted that the Democrats could make a switch before the convention.

NBC analyst Chuck Todd said Democratic leaders are in “a full-on panic about this performance.” Almost 48 million viewers watched the debate, many more likely saw clips of Biden’s worst moments after they were posted online.

Patillo described Biden’s performance as “Just an old man dying in front of us,” saying that “It got uncomfortable for people watching.”

However, the Democrats may have difficulty finding a replacement for Biden because they all but shut down the party’s primary this cycle, making Harris the only potential candidate with a reasonable claim to the nomination as Biden’s running mate, but she is nearly as unpopular with the voting public as Biden is.

💬 “The problem then becomes you can’t hop over the first Black female vice president and put Gavin Newsom, let’s say, in the catbird seat,” explained Patillo, and whoever the nominee is will need support from black voters if they hope to defeat Donald Trump in November.

“The reason is you have, what? Four months that you have to get 100% name recognition around the country. You don't have time to introduce the country to Gavin Newsom. You don't have time to introduce the country to Kamala Harris, quite frankly,” he explained. “You need someone who is a known commodity that is already recognized by every single person, whether good, bad or ugly, and who has the ability to fundraise, you know, the half billion dollars they're going to need to fundraise for the course of the next several months. And the only person who fits that bill will be Hillary Clinton or Michelle Obama, and Michelle ain't doing it.”

“[Biden] was barely able to form a sentence last night and that is why it’s a situation that’s apocalyptic for Democrats because regardless of how much money you raise, regardless of how you try to paint Trump, if people think you’re running essentially against ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ it’s not going to really matter,” Patillo continued. “And that is why that Hillary train is going to be picking up over the course of the next several weeks.”

Hit the link to find out more

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The rebellious Bolivian generals, including their leader Juan Jose Zuniga, have been arrested for six months.

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💥 A Russian Iskander missile strike destroyed a Ukrainian S-300PS surface-to-air missile system in the Odessa region.

The hit took out a radar station, a low-altitude detector, and the combat control cabin.

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Washington Post criticizes Democrats for ignoring Biden's age and mental fitness, lists 10 potential replacements

The Washington Post, a major American newspaper, published a list of 10 alternative candidates to replace U.S. President Joe Biden in the upcoming presidential election, while also accusing the Democratic Party of "burying its head in the sand" regarding concerns about the American leader's age and mental state.

"The Democratic Party has spent much of the 2024 campaign burying its head in the sand over Americans’ concerns about President Biden’s age and mental sharpness," the publication states.

According to the publication, the most influential voices in the party portrayed the president's issues as media exaggerations. However, the stance of Biden's allies shifted after his "incoherent and almost universally criticized performance" in the debate with Donald Trump, raising the question of alternative candidates for the November election.

The newspaper lists 10 alternative candidates from the Democratic Party who could replace Biden in the upcoming election:

1️⃣ Vice President Kamala Harris, "unless she voluntarily steps aside"

2️⃣ Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, "an actually plausible alternative with looking almost ideal on paper"

3️⃣ Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, "the antithesis of Biden’s inability to drive a message against Trump"

4️⃣ Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro

5️⃣ Colorado Governor Jared Polis

6️⃣ California Governor Gavin Newsom

7️⃣ Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock

8️⃣ Michelle Obama, "the most popular former first lady, but not interested in running"

9️⃣ Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar

1️⃣0️⃣Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear

"It's truly a desperate plan and one that features many hurdles... It’s not even clear that an alternative would render the party better off," concludes the publication.

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The US has sent Israel more than 10,000 bombs and missiles since the start of Israel's military operation in Gaza, Reuters reported, citing two US officials.

The report said the weapons shipments included at least 14,000 of the MK-84 2,000-pound bombs, 6,500 500-pound bombs, 3,000 Hellfire precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, 1,000 bunker-buster bombs, and 2,600 air-dropped small-diameter bombs.

The US has not made any significant changes that would limit the level of US military support provided to Israel, the report added. The Pentagon did not immediately respond to Sputnik's request for comment on this matter. On Wednesday, a US official told reporters that the country has sent Israel $6.5 billion worth of weapons.

The Biden administration at present only has one shipment on temporary hold of the 2,000-pound bombs Israel has been asking for. The United States is currently reviewing this request amid concerns that Israel would use it in densely populated areas in Rafah.

However, the US is expected to release a hold soon on 500-pound bombs that have also been placed on hold, according to reports. Israel will reportedly need them in case it gets into a deeper conflict with Hezbollah on its northern border with Lebanon.

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💥 Russian T-80BVM and T-90 Proryv tanks have destroyed Ukrainian strongholds near Ugledar.

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❗️Five people were killed, including two small children, and two seriously injured as a result of a night attack by a Ukrainian helicopter on an apartment building in the village of Gorodishche in Russia's Kursk region, the acting head of the region, Alexei Smirnov, said.

According to him, the victims are in the hospital, they are receiving medical care.

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Biden not fit to discharge immense presidency duties — Douglas Macgregor

"The media worked closely with the White House to conceal the truth that was on display last night. President Biden is not fit to discharge the immense duties of the presidency. The alarming evidence of his cognitive decline was on display for all to witness," retired US Army Colonel and former Department of Defense adviser commented on yesterday's presidential debate.

Macgregor believes that Biden is controlled and exploited by his political advisers and allies, who have "fueled the proxy war in Ukraine" and "eroded" US moral authority and credibility by supporting Israel in its "disproportionate actions in Gaza."

"These actions drained our defense resources and compromised our moral standing in the world. Sadly, President Biden's fragile mental state was laid bare for all to see in last night's debate. His responses were frequently incoherent. He appeared lost, even confused, struggling to complete basic thoughts. It was heartbreaking, a spectacle that confirmed our worst fears about his deteriorating capacity," he concluded.

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🎓🎆Prom: Russian Style

"Scarlet Sails," a holiday dedicated to graduation, was held in St. Petersburg, Russia. The ceremony ended with the passage of the brig Rossiya (lit. Russia) along the Neva River.

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🔸NYT editorial board calls on Biden to quit election race

🔸Trump vs Biden: odds of winning US presidential election

🔸Bolivian military rebels who attempted a coup: What are they facing?

🔸Russian Navy gets scores of new vessels each year despite Western sanctions: proof

🔸In the event of real conflict, how many troops would NATO countries be able to send into battle?

🔸Watch Russian Iskander missile destroy Ukraine’s S-300PS surface-to-air missile system near Odessa

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US stealing Russian money and using Russian assets to support Ukraine — Jim Rogers to Sputnik

"Of course, it's not right … for a country just to steal someone else's assets," a well-known American investor told Sputnik, stressing that he does not approve of the seizure and does not think it should happen.

Asked whether the decision to seize Russian assets would undermine other nations' confidence in the United States, Rogers said:

"Many people see what's happening with the US dollar, they see that the US is seizing assets, that other people are seizing assets, so many people are now trying to find something else to use besides the US dollar."

Rogers noted that it is widely known that the United States is the largest debtor nation in history, and most people are trying to find another currency to use besides the US dollar.

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